


To Have and To Hold

by JGoose13



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: A marriage on the rocks, A wager to win a brownstone, At one point Rey suspects Ben of cheating, But Ben would never, F/M, Married Couple Arguing, Married Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Married couple working through their shit, Rey and Ben are Married, Sex by the wood pile, Smut, Two adults working out their shit, a cabin in the woods
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:33:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25266916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JGoose13/pseuds/JGoose13
Summary: 14 days. 1 married couple. 1 backwoods Maine cabin. No television. No WiFi. No electronic devices allowed.The stakes?Uncle Luke's coveted brownstone in Chelsea.For Trish47 for the PL Summer Moodboard Exchange.
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 12
Kudos: 178
Collections: A Picture is worth 1000 Words - PL Summer Exchange





	To Have and To Hold

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Trish47](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trish47/gifts).



> This is probably not at all what you wanted when you made this moodboard. To be honest with you, I have no idea where the hell the idea came from. Regardless, I really hope you enjoy it! Thanks for making such great moodboards!

The cobalt blue Prius bumped and swayed as it slowly coasted along the dirt road leading to its destination. From the passenger seat, Rey Solo watched as tree after tree passed, nothing but dense fir trees and evergreens and whatever else was indigenous to this area of Maine. The front passenger tire sank deep into a crag in the road, jarring Rey’s teeth as the heel of her hand came up into her chin. For the past thirty minutes, Rey had been resting her elbow on the doorframe, cupping her cheek in her palm, just watching the world go by. Anything to not have to speak to the man sitting next to her, who had also been silent since passing over the Piscataqua River Bridge and into “Vacationland.”

Rey couldn’t believe they’d gotten this far. She thought for sure one of them would have chickened out, suggest turning around, and head back to the city. When Connecticut went by, then Massachusetts, then New Hampshire, without either of them calling it quits, Rey knew this was real. 

They were really going to do this. 

She felt the Prius slow beneath her, and turned to look through the windshield. 

A cabin sat before them. It looked as though a good, strong gust of wind would knock the supports down at any moment, and send the roof caving in on top of unsuspecting inhabitants. The place was ramshackle at best, and Rey couldn’t help but scoff in disgust. 

Perhaps it had been charming once upon a time, but now it had a tin roof that seemed to barely hold on. It was entirely built from timber, no doubt harvested somewhere in the state. A front porch spanned the whole width of the cabin. One side bowed, as if some invisible weight sat atop it. Two, large windows framed either side of the front door, complete with a screen to keep bugs out. 

Ben Solo, Rey’s quiet and brooding husband, brought the Prius to a halt next to a sleek, black Mercedes that looked way out of place in the rustic setting. 

“Still sure about this?” Rey asked, looking skeptically out through the windshield, dusty from the road. 

“Yeah. Bit too late to have second thoughts, don’t you think?” Ben shot back. Rey felt annoyance as well, and she held back a snide comment.. 

“I wanted to turn back the minute we got in the car to come here, but I didn’t say a damn word.”

“If you’re going to be like this the entire time we’re here, I wish you’d said something earlier,” Ben grumbled before throwing open the door and unfolding his large frame from the vehicle. 

The annoyance bubbled higher, forcing Rey to take a second, to suck in a breath and then another. She popped open the door, and stepped out of the Prius, just as Luke Skywalker shoved the screen door open, the poor thing rattling as it swung to hit the exterior with a  _ bang! _

“Well, well! You made it! I’m impressed. Already, my expectations have been exceeded.” If Rey didn’t know any better, she would say Luke’s words were  _ actual _ praise. 

“Told you we’d be here, didn’t we?” Ben grumbled again, shoving his hands in his jean pockets. 

“Right, right, anyway…” Luke waved his hand. “Come on in, I’ll start the tour inside, and then show you the lay of the land.” 

With that, the wizened, older man disappeared back inside. Rey and Ben glanced at each other, then followed. 

As Rey entered the cabin, she realized quickly the tour would be short. 

The cabin was one large open space, except for the bathroom, which was its own closed off room. The kitchen flowed into the tiny dining area, which flowed into the corner where the bed sat, which flowed into a lounge area. A wood stove sat in the corner of the supposed living room, along with a beat-up but well-cushioned couch. The bedroom consisted of a queen-sized mattress held up by a wire frame and headboard, and an intricately designed quilt as a comforter. The dining area had a small, circular table with four rickety chairs, and the kitchen had a refrigerator, oven with stove top, microwave, and limited counter and cabinet space. 

Quaint wasn’t the word Rey would have used to describe Luke’s “hermit hole,” but those had been his words, and definitely not her’s. 

“Bathroom’s in here, and this is laundry…” The bathroom barely squeezed in a toilet, sink, and glass-encased shower. Opposite the bathroom was the laundry room, complete with stacked washer and dryer. 

This place had any amenity a person could ask for in such remote environs. 

Except air conditioning, heating, a television, or WiFi. 

“Let’s go outside! That’s the best part!” Luke did a little happy dance across the space to slip outside. Rey glanced over at Ben who held out his arm, bidding her to follow after Luke first. Heaving a sigh, she did, catching up with the silver-haired man by a three-sided lean-to just to the right of the house.

“I have some wood already chopped for you, but if you need any more, here’s the axe,” Luke pointed at the red-headed cleaver propped against a stack of split wood. “You’ll definitely need it for the evenings here. The wood stove is actually really effective. Heats the whole house real cozy like.” 

Luke turned and headed off down a narrow path Rey hadn’t even noticed, because it was so overgrown with underbrush and roots. She hurried to follow, taking extra care not to trip. She’d worn wedge heels, clearly a horrible decision. The little trail eventually opened up into a grassy expanse, leading to a wooden dock. 

“I picked this place mostly for its location on Golf Island Pond. It’s an inlet off the Androscoggin River. Great for kayaking or canoeing or even going for a swim,” Luke waggled his eyebrows at her, and she couldn’t imagine what in the hell he was implying. 

“It’s lovely,” Rey forced herself to speak, already feeling anxiety forming. 

“You two are going to love it here, truly. Oh, don’t give me that look. When I come back in two weeks, you’re going to beg me not to leave.” 

“Sure, Luke,” Rey said, forcing some sort of civility in her tone. “Sure we will.” 

Luke, oblivious to the lack of enthusiasm from his nephew and his nephew’s wife, pushed past them, beckoning them to follow him back into the cabin.

They gathered around the small table that leaned to one side thanks to a shorter leg than the others.

“Okay, so, the terms of our agreement…” Luke, ever the business man, had drummed up an actual contract for them to sign, sliding said contract across the table. The older Skywalker had made his money in financials, having spent a majority of his life on Wall Street. He’d gone to law school beforehand, and had even worked on an MBA. He was smart and calculating, and had earned every cent he had in the bank. 

The contract wasn’t anything elaborate, but since it was Luke, it was thorough. 

Rey and Benjamin Solo were required to spend exactly fourteen days at Maison Skywalker, as Luke had called the cabin in the contract. They were not allowed electronic devices, and were required to surrender any smartphones and tablets currently on their person or in their belongings. They were to also hand over the keys to their personal vehicle in the event Rey and Benjamin Solo felt compelled to go into town to the local inn. If fourteen days passes successfully without any breach of contract, then Rey and Benjamin Solo will become the new owners of Luke’s Chelsea brownstone.

“So… what if there’s an emergency? You’re just gonna let us die out here?” Ben blinked. 

Luke actually laughed. “No, of course not, Benny-Boy. That’s what the landline is for, you remember how those work, right? In case you need help, you dial 9-1-1. You also have my number in case you need to tap out, and I’ll be here in a jiffy. I’m not going far, just spending some time with a friend while you’re here.”

“What are we supposed to do for food?” Ben pressed further. 

“Oh, I’ve already filled the fridge and the pantry with enough food to last you for months. Plus, you can keep whatever you catch out of the Pond.” Rey’s nose crinkled at the thought, not knowing the first thing about how to descale fish to be cooked. “Also, since I know you eat out a lot, I’ve got a few cookbooks in the cabinets to help you, and all the pots and pans and utensils you’d need. Really, you’re all set. Everything you need to live here is provided for you. You just need to, you know, make it through two weeks.”

Another thirty minutes later, Luke was gone, directing the Mercedes back down the driveway, having left his number and his friend Mara’s number. In his possession were two iPhones and a set of Prius keys. 

Rey and Ben were well and truly on their own now.

~*~

**_One Month Earlier…_ **

_ Senator Leia Organa-Solo’s latest fundraising dinner was in full swing, and the woman herself worked the crowd, shmoozing the hell out of all donors in attendance. Rey had always admired her mother-in-law. Indeed, she’d lucked out in that department. Coming from no parents save for a doting grandfather, Rey had never had a mother figure, but Leia truly loved Rey as if she were her own.  _

_ This fundraiser was meant to benefit inner city arts programs around all five boroughs of New York City, which included performing arts, music, and writing programs. The latter had been Rey’s contribution, having volunteered in various writing programs while in college.  _

_ “Christ, I hate these things,” Ben muttered under his breath as he ambled up to her side, holding out a flute of champagne to her. Rey took the flute with a thankful nod, and sipped the light colored liquid.  _

_ “You say that every time,” Rey replied with an amused little smirk, glancing over at Ben, dressed to the nines in a very well fitted tuxedo. The bow tie was really doing something to her, but if she knew her husband, and herself, they would leave later and promptly crash, not even taking time to cuddle.  _

_ Such was their life now, apparently. _

_ “I’m surprised you both haven’t made your escapes yet,” Luke Skywalker, Ben’s uncle, observed as he joined them, a beer bottle clutched in his hand. The family recluse wore a tuxedo, clearly rented and decidedly frumpy, despite the fact the man had enough money to buy closets full of them.  _

_ “And I’m surprised you’re even here,” Ben replied, damn near snidely. His relationship with his uncle had always been a rocky one. Two hot-heads that shared too similar genetic material. “I thought fundraisers by senators were like leeches on the face of the masses, put there by our capitalist overlords.”  _

_ Luke laughed, as though he hadn’t said that very thing, word for word, on several occasions.  _

_ “The way I see it… this fundraiser isn’t all that bad. It’s benefiting kids that need creative outlets, and I know my sister will actually put the money where it’s meant to go,” Luke replied. _

_ “Uh huh…” Ben hummed, his light brown gaze sliding to Rey before taking a sip from his own champagne flute.  _

_ “How’s the wilderness of Maine treating you?” Rey asked, trying to be polite. She’d never disliked Uncle Luke. In fact, he’d been a mentor of sorts at the beginning… before his breakdown and withdrawal from civilized society.  _

_ “Really well, actually,” Luke stroked the beard he’d been growing over the past few months. His steel gray hair had grown long as well, and Rey had to admit, the rugged mountain man look was good for the elder gentleman. “Got myself a nice little spot. Very quaint, bet you two would like it.”  _

_ Ben scoffed in disbelief. “Yeah, Luke, I’m sure it’s a great place for a hermit.”  _

_ “Don’t knock it till you see it,” Luke defended. “I’ve got fresh air, a nice place to swim and kayak and fish. The nearest neighbor is a half mile away across the river, and the best part… it’s  _ quiet _.”  _

_ Rey had been, and would always be, a city girl. She’d been born into the Kenobi family, a wealthy clan with deep roots in London society. If it hadn’t been London, then it had been New York, or Paris, or Milan. The Kenobis and Skywalkers had always been close since her grandfather and Ben’s grandfather met. Though Rey had known Ben her entire life, their relationship hadn’t turned romantic until they attended Columbia.  _

_ Despite thriving and striving in the city, the thought of quiet and fresh air? It kind of sounded nice. _

_ “You’re forgetting bugs and bears and whatever else lurks in the woods,” Ben replied wryly.  _

_ “Yeah, you’re right, Benny-Boy,” Luke said, invoking the nickname he knew annoyed Ben. “Too much fresh air for you, too much communing with nature. I forget how much of a snob you are. You’re right, you wouldn’t be able to survive out there.”  _

_ Rey shot Luke a scathing look, both of them knowing full well that a bold claim like that would only incite the dark side of Ben’s ego.  _

_ Sure enough, her husband’s chest puffed up, offended. “What d’you mean? You don’t think I can survive out in the woods at your hermit cabin?”  _

_ “That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Luke replied flatly and without hesitation.  _

_ Rey’s heart lurched. She didn’t like where this was going.  _

_ “You wanna bet on that, old man,” Ben seethed, his grip tight on the champagne flute. Rey was surprised it didn’t shatter.  _

_ “Yes,” Luke said, a pleased smile sprouting across his face. “I wager that you and your lovely wife--” _

_ “Oi!” Rey griped indignantly at being dragged into this childish exchange.  _

_ “-- wouldn’t be able to spend two full weeks at my cabin.”  _

_ Ben stood up straighter, shoulders squared. “And I say we can.”  _

_ Luke grinned wider. “If you can spend two full weeks at my cabin, without cell phones and electronic devices, I’ll turn over the deed to my brownstone in Chelsea.”  _

_ Not only did that pique Ben’s attention, it also peaked Rey’s as well. The couple had always coveted Luke’s brownstone. Loved its central location to their places of work, loved the opulence of it, loved the status it would bring. Not to mention all the  _ space _ … Their two bedroom walk-up just didn’t cut it. _

_ “You’re shitting me,” Ben breathed, no doubt feeling this was a too-good-to-be-true offer. And it was, Rey couldn’t help but think. There had to be a catch. _

_ “I would never  _ shit _ you, Ben,” Luke shot back. “If you can spend fourteen days, following all my stipulations, I will give you my brownstone. Been thinking of selling it anyway, though the thought makes me want to puke. Knowing it’ll stay in the family would be a relief.” _

_ Ben turned to Rey, and she could see the awe and the determination in his gaze. This wasn’t what she’d imagined when she had daydreamed for three seconds of quiet and fresh air. But this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.  _

_ “What do you think?” Ben asked. _

_ Rey knew it was on her to agree. She hated having that pressure, but she fucking loved that brownstone. _

_ “Why not?” Rey shrugged. “What could it hurt?” _

~*~

Apparently, it could hurt a lot. 

That first night went well. Deceivingly well. The next morning when they woke to the sun blazing through the window by the bed, Rey should have known it wouldn’t remain that easy. 

The previous evening’s dinner had gone surprisingly well, despite the minimal cooking skills between them. Breakfast went off without a hitch as well. As the day waned, however, with neither phone nor laptop to connect to the Internet, boredom set in. 

Ben sat at the small dining table, playing classic solitaire with a spare deck of cards. Rey lay across the couch, attempting to catch up on some reading. After about ten minutes, she began to notice an odd pattern of sounds, a rhythm that echoed around her over and over again. First the  _ tap-tap _ of a playing card on the table, then the  _ drip-drip _ of the leaky kitchen faucet, then the overlay of various birds chirping outside, not to mention the cacophony of bugs that had been playing, ad nauseum, since last night. 

When the noises sank and then crescendoed, Rey threw herself up off the couch, nearly falling face first to the floor. 

“Must you tap those cards like that?” She gritted through clenched teeth. 

Ben looked over at her, innocent and confused. Which only irritated Rey more. 

“What d’you mean?” he asked as he proceeded to tap the card he’d been trying to place. 

“That!” She exclaimed, pointing across to Ben’s large paw clutching the miniscule card. “You’re tapping the card on the table. It’s  _ annoying _ .” 

Ben huffed, turning his gaze from her back to the spread before him. If she had to guess, the eye movement she observed had been him, rolling his eyes. “It’s just tapping, Rey. Calm down.” 

“ _ Just _ tapping?  _ Calm down _ ?”

“Is there an echo in here?” Ben asked sarcastically, the little bitch. 

Rey, hands balled into fists at her sides, let out a frustrated groan and marched from the cabin, allowing the screen door to bang against the outside wall as she went. She spent the rest of the afternoon outside, sitting on Luke’s dock, suspending her legs over the edge and toeing at the water. The temperature was pleasant, and she considered going back in to pull out her bathing suit, but thought better of it. After a while taking in some of the crisp air, Rey returned to find Ben still sitting at the table and playing solitaire. He looked up when she entered. Rey could feel the way he tracked her movements in the small kitchen, filling a glass of water. It was a normal Ben tactic, to watch her, assess where he stood with her. 

“So, um, what’re you thinkin’ for dinner tonight? Maybe we could try lasagne?” Ben asked.

“Sure,” Rey nodded, taking the opportunity to move forward, and not dwell on their tiff. “Sounds good.”

The next day, wife and husband decided to explore the river in Luke’s kayaks. Rey had packed a bag of lunch eats in case they found a cute area to pull off and have a picnic. 

“How about here?” Ben asked, pointing one end of his double sided oar at the nearby bank. 

“No, can’t you see the ‘Private Property’ sign?” Rey pointed out. 

A few minutes later.

“Here?” 

“Jesus, Ben, obviously not, it’s all brush and reeds. There’s probably a ton of bugs in there!” 

They spent the entire midday arguing and deliberating about where they would eat, so they decided to scrap the idea and head back. Except they got turned around, and bickered back and forth some more before Rey spotted a familiar landmark and got them back on course. 

Dark clouds began to roil and gather in the sky as they pulled the last kayak back up on the dock. Then, the heavens opened up and it began to pour. With the bag in hand, Rey and Ben scrambled to get along the trail and into the cabin. 

Only to find that several places in the roof leaked. 

Rey quickly grabbed several pots from the cabinets and set them out to catch the rain water. Ben shoved some split wood into the wood stove and set it ablaze. They ate their lunch late in the afternoon, forcing down the now soggy peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. 

It rained on and off for the next couple of days. The  _ clink clink _ of water into the metal pots was constant. 

Constantly driving Rey up a wall.

It kept her up during the night, though it didn’t seem to affect Ben, who snored softly beside her. The bastard. 

On day five, unable to sleep in the lumpy bed, Rey gave up on elusive sleep and began brewing coffee. Taking the mug outside, Rey sat on the front steps, sipping the elixir and taking in her surroundings. In this early dawn, the stillness of the morning seemed almost tranquil. For the first time since they had arrived, Rey actually could see a glimpse of what Luke saw. 

A small smile tugged at Rey’s lips as she brought the coffee cup to her lips. Slow scuffling off to her right caught her attention, and she tipped her head in that direction. Flashes of black and white fur appeared through the bushes, and then out stepped a small creature with a fluffy tail striped with white. 

Rey froze.

A skunk. 

For a time, Rey and the skunk engaged in a stare down, neither of them wanting to make the first sudden movement. Her heart thudded in her chest, considering the chances she’d get sprayed. That would be all she needed. To stink to high Heaven for the rest of their time in this place. 

Slowly, Rey brought her legs under her, and slowly rose to her feet. 

The skunk jolted, and for the briefest of moments, Rey thought the thing would charge her. 

In a flash, she bolted for the door, the fastest she had moved since playing field hockey at Columbia. She moved so fast, she sloshed the hot liquid of her coffee down her front. But at least she was inside, safe from the skunk, who ambled slowly past the lowest step outside, as if pleased it had won the standoff. It let its tail sway from side to side almost arrogantly, taunting Rey from where she watched behind the screen door. It kept walking and disappeared back into the woods.

~*~

**_Sixth Months Earlier..._ **

_ Rey clomped down the stairs to the basement where four sets of coin operated washing machines and dryers sat. On the second to last stair, the hamper hindered her depth perception, and she nearly went toppling to the floor. Luckily, she righted herself and continued on, setting the hamper on top of her favorite washing machine, the one she knew would actually clean clothes. _

_ Friday night, and here she was, partying it up in the basement, washing her clothes and her husband’s. Such a fucking mundane task. What had happened to nights out with friends and date nights where she and Ben roamed the streets of New York until the wee hours of the morning?  _

_ A month ago, they’d celebrated their fifth year of marriage. Traditionally, the fifth year gift involved wood of some sort. Naturally, Rey had given in to the time honored trend, and gifted Ben a wooden tie rack. Ben had brought her flowers.  _

_ What had happened to the originality? Rey had never given a shit about expensive gifts, but Ben had been the best at heartfelt, original gestures.  _

_ Five years of marriage. Seven years together romantically. A lifetime of knowing.  _

_ Though they had spent their lives on opposite ends of the Atlantic, their families had always been close, so at important gatherings they would interact. Rey wouldn’t have called them the best of friends growing up, but they were cordial. Ben was two years older, and had always seemed like the brooding bad boy. Rey was the goodie two-shoes Brit who had her tea and clutched her pearls at scandal.  _

_ It wasn’t until Rey decided on Columbia, showing up her freshman year to junior Ben giving her the grand tour. They had both changed, matured, since the last time they’d seen the other. Ben was so tall, grown into his awkward features, handsome and funny, though the edge was still there. Rey had become more daring, less sheltered debutante. They were friends first, and then senior year hit for Ben, and they became something more.  _

_ All they had needed was a spark. Caught in the rain, sheltered at Ben’s apartment, gaze long held, and that was it. They had come together like two weather fronts, forming a tornado of passion and love. They were gone on each other, and Rey knew, quickly, Ben was the only one for her.  _

_ They married after Rey’s first year at Holdo Literary Agency, and the first years were indescribably wonderful.  _

_ Then, something shifted. They stopped having date nights. The sex staled. The spark had dimmed, damn near snuffed, devoid of oxygen.  _

_ It was this Rey contemplated as she sorted out the hamper full of clothes. Tomorrow, she would drop off a couple of Ben’s suit jackets to the dry cleaner.  _

_ After Rey poured in the detergent, she began stuffing their lights into the machine. As she shoved one of Ben’s white button down shirts in, a floral scent filtered through the air.  _

_ Rey froze.  _

_ It wasn’t the detergent, that scent she recognized. This scent was something different.  _

_ Perfume.  _

_ Perfume that was not hers. Hell, she hadn’t bothered with perfume in at least two years.  _

_ Rey swallowed thickly. Reaching in, she pulled the shirt back out and pressed her nose into the folds.  _

_ It wasn’t a strong smell, but it was there. Enough to linger.  _

_ Quickly, Rey put the shirt back into the machine along with the rest of their light colored clothes, slamming the top down. Her forefinger froze over the “Start” button, contemplating… well, she wasn’t sure what she contemplated. Jamming her finger into the button, the machine sprang to life, and Rey raced back up the stairs to their apartment. _

~*~

They had survived to the halfway point of their self-imposed exile. 

Since the skunk incident, Ben had been stung by a bee (thank Christ he wasn’t allergic), Rey had gotten a wooden splinter jammed into the heel of her palm, and they had both capsized in the kayaks at least twice. 

Their arguments were constant, over anything and everything they could find to gripe at.

Rey couldn’t help but feel like they meant something deeper, less surface level than the boiling over of a pot of pasta or using up all the hot water. But she couldn’t figure out what. Communication had never been their strongest suit, and had further degraded over the past few years as they had settled into their married life and work life. 

“Hey, Rey?” 

It had been an hour since they had climbed into bed on their seventh night, and sleep eluded Rey, yet again. At the sleepy sound of her husband’s voice, Rey half turned over towards him. 

“Hm?” 

“Could you throw an extra log in the stove? I’m freezin’ my balls off.” 

Rey rolled her eyes. “Why don’t you do it?” 

“You’re closer.”

Rey heaved a sigh and rolled from beneath the covers. Her bare feet hit the chilled hardwood floors of the cabin. She padded across the space to the wood stove, and saw there were only two split logs left. Opening the grate, Rey shoved one of the logs into the belly, and prodded and stoked the fire with the iron poker. A shiver raced down her spine as the coolness of the cabin finally hit her. She hurried back across the space and launched into the bed and under the covers, basking in the warmth her husband emanated. 

“You’ll need to split some wood tomorrow. There wasn’t anymore already split when I brought in some the other day,” Rey said into the hush of the cabin. 

“I’ll do it tomorrow,” Ben mumbled, and a few moments later, his breathing evened out and he was asleep. 

Lucky bastard.

Rey lay awake, staring up at the natural designs of the timber ceiling. Through the light emanating from the wood stove and the light over the stove they kept on, she could almost pick out shapes as if they were clouds. 

Turning toward Ben, Rey settled on her side, tracing the curve of his form through the gloom. His dark hair lay frumpled against the pillow. Slowly, she reached her fingers out, letting the tips play through the strands. Hot tears stung, and before she could blink them back, a few fat droplets fell from the corners of her eyes and absorbed into the scratchy pillowcase beneath her head.

~*~

Day nine. Yet more rain. Despite the nastiness and dampness, they’d made it. They were surviving. It was the homestretch. Despite thick tensions between husband and wife, both were at least on the same page, keeping their eyes on the prize. They wanted that brownstone, the step up it would give them in more ways than just more room. After graduating college, both had been adamant about emerging from the shadow of their affluent families. And they’d done it, together. But they’d never been able to nab a better living space, despite the fact they could afford it. To have this opportunity for that brownstone? There was no turning away from something like this. 

In the city, rain never came down as it did in backwoods Maine. Torrential downpours for days, it seemed. Rey thought about the skunk, and hoped the little bugger had taken shelter somewhere

Rey shivered from the dank cold inside the cabin. She grabbed her sweater, then noticed one of the pots needed to be emptied. She changed it out with a fresh pot to catch the water still steadily leaking from the ceiling. 

Heading for the sink, Rey upended the full pot, then shoved it down, metal clanging loudly against metal. She cradled her head in her hands, hot frustrated tears prickling at her eyes. 

How had it come to this? 

Roughing it in a hermit cabin to win a fucking living space? Petty arguments over the stupidest shit? No stolen kisses or hugs or signs of affection of any kind? 

They should have never agreed to come to this god forsaken place. It had exposed the hideous parasite that had wiggled its way into their lives. Things had been so simple in the city, uncomplicated, and…  _ mundane _ . 

Okay, maybe not uncomplicated, but at least in the city Rey couldn’t see the ugly truth.

Despite success in her job as a literary agent, despite the joys of living in New York… it didn’t mean anything with the wedge lodged firmly between her and her husband. 

Where had things gone wrong? Where along the way had they lost themselves? 

The day the spark between them ignited had been a day much like this one. The fledgling flame had roared into a great bonfire of passion, lust, and love, this incredible feeling of being alive with your other half. Your soulmate. 

What the fuck had happened? 

Had they gotten so caught up in status, in their jobs, that they’d forgotten each other? 

“ _ FUCK _ !” 

Rey startled from her spiraling fear at the deep, curdling curse. She turned, rushing out the front door and onto the rickety porch.

“ _ Motherless _ mother _ fucker _ !”

Rey followed the sound of her husband’s mindless ravings, finding him where he said he’d go about an hour before. Ben stood under the shoddily made lean-too that barely covered the cut logs of wood. 

“Christ, what’s wrong?” Rey shouted to be heard over the deluge and Ben’s frustrated exclamations. It was a wonder this shitty lean-to’s roof held out better than the cabins. It kept the absolute downpour at bay.

“This fucking axe won’t cut worth shit,” Ben growled in a dangerous tone, one that might’ve been used in a very different way in the past. In a way that used to make Rey’s toes curl. 

As promised, Ben had come out to bring cut logs into the cabin to keep the wood stove running, to continue to keep them warm in the unseasonably cool dampness. That had been an hour ago, and Rey couldn’t see any pieces ready to be burned. 

“What do you mean?” Rey asked, hearing the desperation rising in her voice. God, she hated feeling so helpless. 

“What d’you think I mean, Rey?” Ben bit back. “The axe is cocksucking dull, because my uncle is a fucking blowhard about this Goddamn cabin.” 

Rey’s fists clenched at her sides. “Don’t talk to me like I’m a child meant to be scolded, Ben.” 

Ben’s gaze shot up to meet her’s, his eyes blinking as if stunned. As if he had no idea what she was talking about. 

Over the past nine days, Ben had become less and less recognizable. Rey was so used to seeing her husband in meticulously tailored suits, hair styled just so. Now, he wore an old pair of ripped jeans she was sure he hadn’t worn since college, a pair of brown, heavy boots, and a white muscle shirt stained with dirt from the wood logs. Ben’s hair was wild, strands whipping to and fro in the wind, sticking to his neck and face. He looked like a wild man, feral, back to his base nature, as their ancient human ancestors. Or like a mountain man who knew every way to survive in the wilderness, though Ben only knew how to survive in one wilderness, and that was the concrete jungle. 

Rey couldn’t decide whether to be scared or turned on. Though fear seemed moot. She knew she didn’t look any better. 

Mouth firmly set in a frown, Ben picked up the log he had been trying to split, and demonstrated just how useless the axe truly was.

Rey watched as he swung his arms back, the muscles flexing and rippling beneath Ben’s pale skin. She was absolutely riveted as Ben brought the axe in a perfect arc over his head, the blade colliding with the log. He had used enough force for the axe to wedge into the log, but it went no further than that, remaining firmly embedded. 

It wasn’t his technique or form - and fuck, what a form - but definitely the axe. Luke had invited them to stay at a defunct cabin complete with a dull axe. 

_ Fuckin’ troll _ .

When the log didn’t split, Ben roared in frustration and hurled both axe and attached log against the rest of the pile. 

To add insult to injury, the axe remained firmly planted in the log as it tumbled to the ground. 

“No brownstone is worth this shit.” 

Rey swallowed thickly, the sentence meaning more than Ben had intended. 

Yeah, she hated being here as much as he did. This rain was a fucking tragedy, having soaked through her jean overalls, causing goosebumps to prickle up her bare arms and shoulders. Her chin length hair was also plastered to her face from the brief moment she’d been unprotected from the elements running from the cabin. 

But the thing was… they’d been in this together. Surviving these two weeks  _ together _ . 

Did that mean nothing to him either?

“Ben…” Rey began, voice soft and barely audible over the pitter patter of rain on tree leaves and the tin roof of the cabin. “… does being out here with me not mean anything to you?”

Her husband visibly started, running his large, thick fingers through dark strands. “That’s not at all what I’m saying. You’re putting words in my mouth.” 

Rey clenched her jaw. She could feel something rising between them, on the verge of cresting like a rogue wave against an unsuspecting ship. It was something that had been dormant, but had slowly been waking since they arrived. Now, the hideous parasite, as Rey had thought of it earlier, came into the light. 

“Maybe consciously you didn’t mean it. But it’s what you’re saying,” Rey hissed through clenched teeth, the fire of her growing anger warming her to the point she forgot about the savage rainstorm happening around them.

“That’s bullshit, Rey, and you know it,” Ben rumbled, the ire in his own voice rising to meet hers. They had only had a handful of knock-down, drag-out disagreements, but by God when they fought it was like two titans clashing. 

“ _ Oh _ ? ‘Bullshit’?” Rey laughed, devoid of humor. “You’ve been complaining the entire time we’ve been here, while also making plans for what you’ll do with the brownstone, how you’d convert this room or that room.” 

“Don’t act like you weren’t in this for the brownstone too,” Ben shot back. “We both agreed to live here for fourteen days to get Luke’s place just wasting away in Manhattan, because he refuses to live in a place that reminds him of the - and I quote - ‘capitalist juggernaut that is America.’ You can’t tell me you’ve not been drooling over the possibility of having that library room.”

Rey rolled her eyes. “I’m not saying that I hadn’t thought about it. I am saying that I’m apparently the only one out of the two of us that thought about this as an opportunity to… I dunno… reconnect.”

“Reconnect? Why would we need to reconnect?” Ben asked, crossing his arms over his chest. 

Rey’s mouth fell open in shock. Was Ben really that blind? 

“Ben… you can’t tell me we’ve been living in marital bliss for the past few years. When was the last time we went on a date? Just the two of us? When was the last time either of us did some sort of gesture for the other? When was the last time we just  _ talked _ , talked about our hopes and dreams? When was the last time we made love because it felt  _ right _ and not because it just seemed like the thing to do? We haven’t worked on us in too long, Ben, and it took me coming here to see it myself fully. We’ve been living on autopilot for a long time. Waking up, going to work, coming home, ordering take-out, watching whatever on TV, going to bed. Wash, rinse, repeat.” 

Ben remained silent. Rey could see in his thoughts in his eyes, rewinding through the past few years.

“So, what? You want me to get you flowers more? You want me to buy you diamonds?” 

Rey resisted the urge to roll her eyes, shaking her head at the futility, watching her point go right over his thick head. 

“That’s not at all what I’m saying. And you know damn well I don’t need material shit to know you love me. But you have to see that we aren’t like we were in college. The fire isn’t there anymore, Ben. The passion is gone. We don’t take spontaneous picnics in the park anymore. You don’t fuck me any way but in missionary position.--” 

“So… you’re saying I’m bringing us down?” 

Rey let out a groan, head tilted back, shouting her annoyance to the cosmos. 

“God, Ben, for someone so smart, you’re so idiotic! I’m not putting this all on you. I know I don’t tell you ‘I love you’ enough. I don’t put those little notes in your suit pockets anymore. I don’t suck you off the way you like. I don’t bake your birthday cakes anymore. I’m saying that we’ve been so focused on our ambition to succeed in our careers that we’ve lost sight of who we are. Ben and Rey. Rey and Ben. Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Solo.” 

A crack of thunder ripped across the sky in that moment, but neither husband nor wife noticed. 

“A-Are… Are you asking for a divorce?” Ben whispered. 

The hopelessness in his voice was like a sucker punch to Rey’s gut.

Rey threw up her hands. “ _ No _ ! I just… I’m saying that I see now the fog we’ve been in. How our goals have diverged where they used to be so in sync. We haven’t talked about our dream of opening our own literary agency in  _ years _ . And we used to want that.  _ Together _ .”

A large hand raked through dark hair again, and Ben began to pace. It was what he did when he wanted to think, and when he was nervous.

“Have we really grown that distant?” He finally asked, stopping. 

The fire that had been ramping up fizzled out like the rest of the things they did together these days. Despair hung heavy in the air between them.

Rey could only nod in answer to Ben’s question. 

The wheels continued to turn and grind in his head, and the emotions that came with that flickered across his face. He looked as she felt, wrecked. 

“It’s… It’s bad, Ben,” Rey said softly, her voice shaking. “About six months ago, I… I had convinced myself you were cheating on me.” 

Ben’s head whipped around. In a swift movement he crossed the distance between them, grasping her shoulders firmly, but not hard enough to bruise. 

“ _ Never _ ,” Ben growled, that hint of wildness she’d seen minutes ago appearing again. “I would  _ never _ , Rey. Do you hear me? There has been and only will be one person for me. And that’s you. No one else.  _ Never _ anyone else.”

Fat, hot tears fell, to Rey’s chagrin. She couldn’t look at him, feeling that shame she’d felt months ago when she’d seriously thought… When she’d smelled that foreign perfume on his shirt.

“It was so stupid,” her voice shook harder, and she  _ hated _ that. “I was stupid. But the perfume...” 

Ben shook his head, shushing her. “No, no, baby… you’re the smartest person I know.” He brushed away a few of her tears with the pad of his thumb, having moved to cup her face gingerly in his warm hands. “What perfume are you talking about, honey?”

“I was so sure you were fucking Bazine behind my back…” Rey huffed. “All those late nights for that project you were working on… I smelled her perfume on one of your shirts…”

Ben leaned in, resting his forehead against Rey’s. “God no, Rey. I wouldn’t touch Bazine with a ten foot pole even if I was single.”

Rey laughed, a few bursts of air, despite the fact she still felt pretty miserable.

“I promise you,” he continued, his voice a gentle whisper. “Nothing happened, nothing has ever happened.”

“But the perfume,” Rey sniffled, hating how pathetic she sounded. 

“Bazine tries to get close… too close. And we did have those long nights with that big project… but Poe was always there too. Bless Poe, he’d always try and distract her.” Ben chuckled quietly.

Silence hung between them once more. Rey had said her piece, and had nothing further to add. What they would do now, moving forward, was up to them to decide. Together.

“I think I’ve known,” Ben said softly, wrapping his arms tightly around Rey, pulling her against his chest. He rested his chin on top of her head. “I think I’ve seen where we’ve been headed the past few years, but I didn’t  _ want _ to see it. I didn’t want to acknowledge we’d strayed from where we were. We weren’t  _ supposed _ to stray. We’ve always been the golden couple, you know? We’ve never had to  _ work _ at it.”

Rey nodded.

Friends and complete strangers had always gushed over their relationship, often voicing how they wished they could find their soulmate. Rey had never much believed in the idea of soulmates. But with Ben… she could entertain the idea.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Ben murmured into her hair, sending a little shiver from the top of her head to her toes. 

“I’m sorry too, Ben,” Rey breathed, her ear pressed to his chest. She didn’t care that his skin was damp from sweat. His scent and his warmth were comfort enough. 

Rey and Ben Solo stood beneath the shoddily constructed lean-too as the rain fell around them. They held each other tightly, two souls having drifted apart, now working to find their way back to one another.

That night, after Ben managed to split a few logs to burn in the wood stove, they cooked dinner together. They sat and ate, the still roaring storm outside lulling creating a strangely comforting ambiance. Rey and Ben exchanged conversation in hushed tones, like they were telling each other secrets in the way they used to. 

After supper, when all the dishes were clean, they sat in front of the wood stove for the warmth. Rey had settled on the couch, reading one of the novels she’d brought with her. Ben sat on the floor, with his back resting against the couch. Occasionally, he tipped his head back to rest in Rey’s lap, which she would then brush her fingers through his inky black hair slowly. He too read a novel. 

Reading had been something they had bonded over. Having both been voracious readers straight from the womb, it came as no surprise to either the Skywalker-Solos or the Kenobis that they would become literary agents. Leia had been disappointed at first that her son wouldn’t follow her into politics. Rey’s grandfather, on the other hand, had been ecstatic that Rey wouldn’t follow the family tradition of practicing law.

“ _ Swindlers and thieves, the lot of them _ ,” Old Obi-Wan would tell her. 

“ _ But… aren’t you a lawyer, grandpa? _ ” Rey would ask. Obi-Wan would simply laugh, and wave away her question.

“When we get back to the city…” Ben said, breaking the long silence. “… maybe we should… go talk to someone?” 

Rey froze, hardly believing her ears. Ben Solo? Suggesting… therapy? 

“You’d want to?” She asked softly. 

Ben turned slightly, his warm brown gaze catching her hazel. “Yes,” he said firmly. “I want… I want us to find each other again.” 

Rey swallowed, a lump forming in her throat. “Deal.” 

For the first time in nine days and nights, Rey slept, wrapped in the arms of her husband.

~*~

The remainder of their time at the cabin isn’t perfect, but then they weren’t perfect. They were two completely fallible beings, trying to work out their new normal. It wasn’t completely possible to go back to where things were when they first got together romantically. Neither of them were those people anymore. So, they had to begin figuring out who they were now, and who they were together. 

Day eleven came, and they went for a long walk in the woods. Maybe they got lost, but instead of arguing about it, they laughed. Eventually, they found the closest main road, and followed it back to the beginning of Luke’s driveway. Rey and Ben had stepped inside the cabin just as the sky opened up again to drop more rain. Husband and wife looked at each other, snorts turning into laughter. They hurried to grab the pots again to catch the rainwater. 

They spent the rest of the afternoon and evening with indoor activities. Rey finished her current reading project, and Ben had sat on the floor once more, listening as she read the book aloud to him. Dinner almost caused the cabin to burn down, and for a split second, Rey had been tempted to let it go. One look into Ben’s brown eyes, and she knew they were on the same page. This caused another bout of laughter. 

The night brought on heated games of War, Go Fish, and worst of all, Gin Rummy. Ben was such a sore loser, and Rey loved to watch him pout. As they sat at the table, their knees and legs brushed, as did their hands and fingertips as they moved cards around. It made Rey blush like she was an undergraduate again, sitting in Ben’s living room half-naked beneath layers of blankets. 

It wasn’t a fix, but it was a start. 

Day twelve dawned, and for yet another night, Rey had slept, content. Ben had latched onto her in the night, his arms and legs wrapped around her like an octopus. This hadn’t happened in months, if not years. Even in sleep, they had grown apart. 

Rey extracted herself from his hold, and began brewing coffee. After they’d partaken of breakfast, Ben suggested a swim in the Pond. Rey, ecstatic at the idea, raced to get her suit on.

For the better part of the morning, Rey and Ben splashed around near the dock, floating and paddling around. At one point, Rey submerged herself in the water, allowing the coolness of it to envelop her. Then, she cracked an eye, seeing the vague shape of Ben in the semi-murk. She kicked her legs enough to propel herself forward, then surfaced right in front of him. Ben let out an undignified yelp of surprise. 

“Christ, Rey, you scared the shit out of me. I thought you were drowning,” he exclaimed, his chest heaving with panic and worry. His big hands grasped her shoulders, the pads of his thumbs dragging along the damp skin. 

“Can’t imagine why,” Rey grinned coyly, pleased with herself. “I was always the better swimmer.” 

“Cheeky,” Ben growled. 

Rey just grinned wider, before easing forward to press her lips to her husband’s. They tasted slightly salty from the makeup of the water, but no less like him. Ben’s arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her tightly to his body as they explored, tongues sensually teasing, deepening the kiss. Rey pulled back, her body light and warm. 

“Mr. Solo… I’d almost forgotten you could kiss like that,” Rey teased. 

“Shit, I almost forgot I was capable of leaving my wife damn near breathless,” Ben chuckled. 

Rey leaned back, trusting Ben to keep his grip on her as they freely bobbed up and down in the water. She laughed, and laughed some more, carefree for the first time in ages. 

“How could you forget? You leave me breathless from anger and frustration all the time,” Rey reasoned. 

Ben howled with laughter, crushing her against his chest in an embrace. He pressed his face into her neck, and Rey could feel his breaths of continued laughter. 

“God, why do you put up with me, wife?” Ben murmured against her skin, licking lightly to tease at the pulse just below her skin. It sent the beat skittering, and a shiver down her spine. 

“Because, I love you and no one else will,” Rey teased, though the gravity behind the declaration held no jest. She loved this man. All of his flaws, all of his vices, all of his charm, and all of the love he’d shown her over the years. He was hers. And she would never give him up without a fight. 

~*~

That night, with a clear sky and a full moon, husband and wife went for a late evening kayak adventure. They remained close, the only sound being the wet swish of their oars through the still water and their hushed conversations. The night was peaceful, and Rey couldn’t remember a time in her life when she actually experienced this level of serenity. All they had was each other, and the moon to keep them company. 

“I think I get it now,” Ben murmured, as they allowed the slow current of the river direct them. They had each grabbed one end of the other’s oar to lock in, and now it was as if they were one kayak, one entity. 

“Get what?” Rey inquired. Keeping a firm grip on both their oars, she had leaned back enough to comfortably look up at the night sky. She had never seen so many stars. Out where light pollution wasn’t much of a problem, the sky illuminated everything with the sheer amount of twinkling stars. Sure, they may just be distant balls of gas, but they were beautiful, ethereal, and almost smiling down on them. You couldn’t get a view like this in the city.

“Why Luke comes out here,” Ben replied, his voice impossibly deeper. 

“Oh yeah?”

“Mhm,” Ben hummed. “It took me twelve days, but I got it. And I’m not even pissed that he’s right. It’s… there’s something about being out in nature. Away from the craziness of the city. It’s eye opening. In more ways than one.” 

Rey tipped her head towards Ben to find him looking at her. Though she couldn’t see him entirely clear, she could make out the features of his face. His dark eyes bored into hers. 

“Makes you appreciate the amenities you have,” Ben continued after a few beats, finally looking away from her and up to the sky. “But it also makes you appreciate simplicity. We haven’t once looked at a phone or a tablet… Don’t get me wrong, the first few days were hell but… now I almost don’t even care if I get another email from work again or read a manuscript on my e-reader.” 

“It has been nice… to unplug,” Rey admitted. 

“There’s something about being alone with your wife too. Something about it that makes you realize how much you’ve been neglecting her.” 

Rey shook her head. “Ben, you’re not the one to blame entirely here. I’ve not exactly been forthcoming with warm and fuzzies. I haven’t been contributing to this relationship either.” 

Ben nodded his head. Rey could see the smooth movement of his hair. “But we’re going to get back on track. Together. And with a little bit of help.” 

“Yes we are,” Rey agreed. 

Time stretched further into the night. Rey had no idea how long they were out on the Androscoggin River, just drifting and chatting, but eventually they decided to pack it in, and began to row back. Unlike the last time they had kayaked, they found Luke’s dock, pulled their boats up, and walked hand-in-hand back to the cabin. 

Once settled inside for the night, Rey pulled her prepared some hot chocolate, which they sipped by the wood stove. They sat quietly, just basking in each other’s presence. To Rey, it felt different, better, less tense and heavy. Judging by the little smile on Ben’s face, he felt the same. He kept eying her, a little twinkle in his chocolate hues. 

“What?” Rey huffed, mock-indignant to his staring. 

“Just looking, no ulterior motives. None whatsoever.”

He was so full of shit, but that was merely one aspect that had endeared him to her.

The light from the stove was the only source of illumination. They had turned off the interior lights, including the light they generally left on over the stove. Before settling in with their hot chocolate, Rey and Ben had taken some time to look up through the trees at the myriad of stars, and without even the meager light from the inside, they were able to see thousands. They even saw a few shooting stars, which, of course, Rey made wishes on. What she wished for, she wouldn’t tell, or else they wouldn’t come true, but she had a feeling they would regardless.

Ben’s hair looked impossibly darker in the dim light, though the light of the fire played off of the sheen beautifully. His features were relaxed, less harsh. Because she wanted to, and because she could, Rey reached out for him, brushing her fingertips lightly along his jawline. Ben’s eyes slid shut, and he nuzzled into her palm. 

Setting aside her mug, Rey climbed into Ben’s lap, capturing his lips in a sweet kiss. It was less hurried than their shared kiss in the river earlier, and Rey took her time. She nibbled at his lips, teased them open with her tongue, and drank him in deeply, cupping his face in her hands while his arms encircled her, holding on to her as if she’d fall away. 

“Make love to me properly, husband,” she half-ordered, half-requested, having pulled away to stare deep into his eyes. They were impossibly darker, heated. 

“Anything for you, wife,” Ben breathed. After making sure the hot chocolate mugs were out of range, he hefted them both to his feet, while Rey clung to his torso, then carried her to the bed. 

They didn’t speak again. 

Ben set Rey on her feet, and slowly, with the greatest care, they removed each other’s clothing, allowing them to pile up on the floor. Rey watched hungrily as the expanse of her husband’s body became exposed, seemingly miles and miles of smooth, pale skin dotted by moles and beauty marks. She’d memorized every single one, had even formed her own constellations in them. Rey had every intention of reacquainting herself with them.

Pressing her palms to his pecs, Rey skated across the width of his chest, down his sides, and splayed her fingers across his taut abdomen. Glancing up, she noticed that Ben’s eyes had closed, swaying towards her on his feet. Rey leaned in, ghosting her mouth across his sternum, delighting in the heavy thud of his heart. Ben let out a little sigh, which caught in his throat when Rey teased her tongue at one of his flat nipples. It budded from her ministrations, and she laved at it until Ben let out a strangled moan and laid her out flat on the bed. 

From then, it was a tangle of limbs and questing hands, light touches and deep kisses. Rey wanted nothing more than to take their time, to put her mouth around him and to feel the way he would worship her sex with his tongue and lips. But she was too desperate for him. 

With a burst of strength and leverage, Rey rolled them, sitting atop his thighs to gaze down at him. Ben’s hard length lay against his stomach, pink and swollen with his arousal. Biting her lip, Rey dragged her own arousal across his length, pulling a beautiful, deep groan from his chest. He’d always had a way of making her wet with just a look, with a simple touch. And she’d been dripping wet for him for damn near hours.

Rey rolled her hips again, coating him in her slick. Ben’s hands flew to her hips, grasping on but not trying to control her movements. His lips parted, as if he meant to say something, but she swooped down to capture his lips, effectively silencing him. Lifting her ass just enough, Rey snaked her hand between them, grasping the base of his hard cock, feeling the velvet skin against her palm. She guided the head to notch at her opening, and slowly sat, taking him in inch by agonizing inch. Ben stretched her, filled her, stuffing her to the brim.

“Auh,” she moaned against his mouth, as she took him in to the hilt.

Neither of them moved. They sat in the stillness, the only sounds the crackling of the fire, the wildlife outside the cabin, and their rasping breaths. 

To Rey, even when linked in the most primal way, it would never be close enough for her. Even wrapped around each other, it would never be close enough. 

Using her palms, Rey pressed against her husband’s impressive chest and lifted herself up once more. Raising her hips, she brought them back down, eliciting a groan from her husband and herself. There was no sensation quite like the way Ben’s cock would drag against her inner walls, catching against a spot inside of her that sent sparks shooting down every nerve ending in her body. He was just thick enough, and just long enough for her. Like his cock had been made for her sex. 

Rey kept a slow and steady pace, rocking her hips back and forth, taking him in again and again, her walls stretching and contracting around the intrusion. It felt so fucking good that Rey lost herself in the movements, allowed her head to roll back on her shoulders, crying out to the rafters in pure ecstasy as they made love in the most heart-achingly sweet way. 

The familiar pressure began to build inside of her. A coil tightening and tightening until Rey thought it would break. Ben’s hips began to move, reading her body better than she could, knowing she neared the precipice. His hands gripped her hips too, directing their movements more and more as he thrust into her quicker, snapping up, the obscene slap of skin against skin drowning out their ragged breaths. The sounds Ben made never ceased to make her toes curl. In the throes of passion, nothing sounded as sweet or as sinful as her husband’s desperate moans. And as they sped up, as his groans and grunts sounded closer and closer together, Rey knew he was just as close.

Ben pivoted upward, pressing his mouth against Rey’s neck to lap at her pulse, to mouth and mark. She clung tightly, their movements becoming erratic and desperate, until the coil sprung tight and thrust her over the edge. The release rocketed through her body, muscles contracting and releasing the most profound and deep pleasure. Her sex clamped down around Ben’s cock, propelling him into his own release. He emptied into her, filling her with his come as he let out a strangled sound like must’ve been her name.

They collapsed to the bed, satiated down to the bone, numb from the pleasure and chests heaving from the exertion.

The past few days had been a start, and they had a ways to go, but Rey just knew they would be alright.

~*~

Day thirteen. Almost there. 

Rey pulled a pitcher of lemonade she’d made the previous day from the refrigerator. She plopped ice cubes into a couple of classes, poured the yellow translucent liquid, then took both glasses in hand. 

It had not rained for at least twelve hours, of which Rey was grateful. As a result of the rain, the lean-to with the wood had started to lean a little too much, so Ben had set out an hour ago to attempt to fix it. Rey’s certain Ben has never fixed anything in his life, but then he might be handier than she knew. 

Sure enough, she rounded the cabin and found her husband muttering curses at one side of the lean-to. 

Rey smirked, then bit her lip, taking in the sight of him. He’d put on a pair of jeans and that damn white tank top that had her stomach flopping. Ben had a length of some sort of white rope in his hands, making a good show of twisting the rope into knots that more than likely wouldn’t hold. Rey’s smirk turned to a full-on grin. 

“Why don’t you stop glaring so hard at that rope? What did it ever do to you?” Rey teased, stepping forward. She held out one of the glasses of lemonade, which Ben took with a small smile and nod. He took two big gulps, and Rey watched his Adam’s apple bob in his throat. 

Damn, you get your man to dick you down nice and sweet like for an evening, and you wake up a thirst trap.

Just like old times. 

“The rope has personally offended me,” Ben replied, after another couple of pulls from the lemonade. He set the glass down, and his fingers started working to form a knot again. “It has offended everything that I stand for. Its existence is an affront to me.” 

Rey nearly choked on her drink.

“You are so dramatic,” Rey laughed. She closed the distance between them, examining his work. She set her lemonade down and nudged him out of the way, deftly tying the knot her husband had been working on for God knew how long. 

“How’d you do that?” Ben asked, his plush lips parted in a small ‘O.’

“I grew up in England, my love. My grandfather was an avid sailor. Of course I learned how to tie knots.” Rey beamed up at him.

Ben shook his head, dark hair falling momentarily into his face. He turned and grabbed more rope from another pile and headed to the other side to fortify the lean-to further. 

“Would you like me to help you with that?” Rey grinned, knowing that her very proud husband would most likely refuse her offer.

Sure enough…

“No, I think I can get it now,” he muttered as he immediately began tying the wrong knot. 

Rey crossed over, sidling up to Ben’s side. His body threw off major heat. Thankfully it wasn’t unGodly hot or humid, though she could smell his sweat and something purely  _ him _ .

“Ben… why don’t you just let me do it?” Rey lobbed, testing the waters. 

“Honey, I’ve got it,” Ben huffed. This only served to make Rey’s grin widen. 

“You’re doing it wrong,” Rey prodded again. 

“No, I think I’m not,” Ben growled. 

Rey bit her lip to hold back a giggle. Maybe if she just… poked… a little bit more…

“You’re not that great with rope, are you?” 

Ben’s fumbling fingers froze, his body stilled. Rey held her breath, knowing that she had flipped the right switch. Ben yanked at the rope, freeing it from a slat in the roof of the lean-to.

“Do you really have such little faith in my rope knotting skills?” Ben asked, his voice low, borderline dangerous. It made Rey’s core heat and a shiver race down her spine. 

Yep, she’d definitely hit the right nerve. 

“I’m just making observations based on what I’ve seen,” Rey replied airily, placing her hands casually into the pockets of her now well worn pair of overalls. “You don’t bloody well know any knot, do you?” 

“I do too,” he muttered, pouting.

Rey slapped his hands and grasped the rope, making quick work of this knot too. “You should stick to what you’re best at,” she crooned, patting his cheek with her hand. As she turned to walk away, Ben grabbed her around her waist and hauled her back against his body.

“You know what? You’re right. I will stick to what I’m best at,” Ben whispered, his voice low and husky and damn near devilish. The next thing she knew, Ben had unclasped the straps of her overalls, rucked down the denim past her ass, and had her bent over the wood pile, his cock sliding easily into her wet warmth. Because, again, a mere look, a mere touch, had always been all it took to get Rey’s panties soaked. 

Ben reamed her from behind relentlessly, grasping her hands at the small of her back as he mounted her, and rode her. The pace was brutal, damn near punishing, but so fucking good. The obscene sucking sound of her wetness around his cock filled the lean to, as did the rhythmic slap of his hips hitting her ass.

Rey was so caught up in the way that Ben just took her, that she didn’t notice the sky open up around them, and the rain pouring down. Thunder cracked, and lightning streaked across the cloudy sky, filling the air with static. Or maybe the electric feeling was just them, and their harried, desperate fucking. 

His name fell from her lips over and over as she felt that familiar sensation cresting, the wave threatening to overtake her, until it finally did. Ben had rubbed roughly at her clit, easily setting her off, screaming out, only for it to be covered by another clap of thunder. Ben came the next second, hips stuttering as rope after rope of come filled her to the brim.

With a yelp, Rey felt them collapse backwards, her back landing on his chest, wrenching her arms uncomfortably. Concern growing and sobering her pleasure high, she lifted herself as much as she could manage and yanked her wrists and arms from between them. Rolling on over, she grasped Ben’s face. 

“Ben… Ben are you okay?” 

Ben began to laugh. “I’m fine, sweetheart. Just… my knees gave out.” 

Stunned, Rey stared down, taking in his wide grin with those furrows on either corner of his mouth that she loved so much. Not to mention the light and carefree way his eyes looked in the overcast light. His deep, goofy laugh became contagious, and she began to laugh too as their predicament registered. 

“Apparently, my husband can’t give his wife a good dicking without getting weak in the knees, huh?” Rey teased, brushing the pads of her thumbs across the apples of his cheeks. 

“M’not gettin’ any younger, that’s for sure,” he laughed. 

Rey settled against his chest, pressing her ear to his sternum to hear the way he laughed, and the way his heart thudded. Her thighs had fallen to either side of his hips, and the slightly uncomfortable feeling of his spend dripping from her caused Rey to squirm, but in that moment… well, she wouldn’t be anywhere else.

~*~

The next morning dawned bright and cheerful. Rey awoke to brew a pot of coffee, a hitch in her step from the marathon they’d run together. When they had finally gathered their wits, they dashed into the cabin, lemonade glasses and pitcher sloshing in their hands, laughing. It didn’t matter, they were already soaked from the rain, from sweat, from sex… It poured and poured for the rest of the afternoon and evening, and what better way to spend that than in bed, with the one you love, the one you know deep in your soul is meant for you. Rey’s body ached and cracked, but deliciously so.

“Rey…” Ben murmured from beneath the covers, reaching out to her side of the bed for her. Her heart ached, wanting to be back there in the warmth with him, but they could do that at home. Luke would arrive in a couple of hours, and they needed to pack and clean up. Especially the sheets. 

Dear God the sheets. 

“Right here, my love,” she called out, pouring water into the reservoir of the coffee pot. 

Ben sat up, looking delightfully and comically disheveled. His inky black mane stuck up at all points, and hung in his face. Ben raked his fingers through his hair, straightening the strands as best he could. 

As they looked across the empty space between them, their mouths quirked in the barest of smiles, Rey knew that they were far from perfect, still had a lot to do to mend the rift between them, but what she did know… well, she knew they would be okay. Because they were together. 

“I don’t know if we should take the brownstone,” Ben declared. Rey paused, her hand hovered over the coffee filter, spooning out the aromatic grounds. 

To say she was surprised would be an understatement. And yet, at the same time, she wasn’t. Over the past few days, them being here became less about getting that brownstone, and more about coming back to each other. The brownstone seemed rather insignificant now. 

“I think you’re right,” Rey finally replied, closing the lid of the brewer and flicking the switch to get it started. 

Ben held his arms out, his fingers motioning for her to come back to bed. Rey padded back, and allowed him to pull her back under the covers. They shouldn’t linger long, but she knew this conversation would be life changing. 

“We’ve been saving for years. We make good money. We’ve always been able to get a bigger place if we wanted. I don’t think the brownstone’s the answer.” 

Rey nodded, cuddling closer, draping a leg over Ben’s thigh. “Maybe we should see if anyone nearby is selling their cabin.” 

A slow smile spread across Ben’s face. “You read my mind, wife.” 

“I’ve been known to do that from time to time,” Rey preened, pleased that they’d come to their first major decision, together, in a very long time. Probably since they had found the apartment they lived in now.

Luke arrived promptly at one o’clock, the exact hour they had arrived fourteen days ago. By that time, Ben had ensured the sheets were cleaned and devoid of evidence of… well, how embarrassing would that have been? Rey had packed, and together they had cleaned the cabin and put everything back how they had found it. 

“Well, well… you guys survived. I honestly thought I’d be getting a call the first night,” Luke chuckled, standing in the front doorway. They had been sitting on the couch, just talking. Rey had forgotten how much she had enjoyed both their inane and philosophical conversations. 

“Yep, here we are, old man. All in one piece,” Ben stood, holding out his hand for Rey to take, which she did, getting to her feet. While she loved the peace of the cabin, and had plans to search out for one of their own, she was ready to get back to the city. 

“I’m impressed. I’ll happily admit to being wrong.” Luke stepped further into the cabin, holding out a ziploc bag that held their phones, phone chargers, and their keys. 

“I think that’s a first for you, isn’t it?” Rey teased, taking the bag, opening it, and retrieving her phone before handing it over to Ben. Rey held up her phone, expecting to find it dead, but Luke had kept them charged. Let no one say the old man wasn’t thoughtful. 

“Yeah, well… I can admit on occasion, when I’m wrong,” Luke nodded. “Oh, and I believe there’s one more thing…” He dug in his pocket, and pulled out a key chain with a single key and a rabbit’s foot. He held it out, waiting expectantly. 

“It’s okay, Uncle Luke,” Ben said softly. “Hold on to it for a little while longer. Maybe when you die and finally leave us alone…” The last part was in jest, of course, which seemed to tickle Luke who burst into a deep, belly laugh. 

“I’ll be damned… you want me to give you the keys to the cabin instead?” 

“No,” Both Rey and Ben blurted, shaking their heads furiously. 

“Er… no, Luke, you keep it,” Rey supplied. It wasn’t that they didn’t  _ like _ this cabin… they just wanted one with a little more civilization than Luke’s offered.

“Well, alright then,” Luke looked around, inspecting. “Thanks for cleaning and putting everything back in place. Just lemme know if you ever want to come back out here. I’ll coordinate something.” 

“Thanks, Luke,” Ben said, and the sincerity in his voice was startling, even for Rey. Perhaps he had come to the same conclusion she had: that Luke had inadvertently helped to save their flailing marriage from drowning in the deep. Rey was certain Luke had no idea the effect this cabin had had on them, and he might never know. But Rey and Ben would. 

“You’re welcome,” the older man replied, a small smile on his face. “Now, get outta here. You’ve got a long drive back to the city and I’m entertaining my lady friend tonight.” He waggled his eyebrows, and Ben and Rey both feigned disgust. 

The drive back to the city was more animated than their drive up. They made a couple more quick stops than they might have. Hell, they had no rush. They still had a couple more days of their allotted vacation anyway, and Rey had always wanted to see more of Massachusetts and Connecticut. They spent that evening in Salem, and took the better part of the next morning exploring the town before heading back towards New York. 

As the familiar skyline came into view, Rey hit the button to roll the windows down, allowing the warm breeze to ruffle her hair. Ben’s hand enveloped hers, fingers threading together and fitting together perfectly. Rey smiled over at her husband, who chanced a glance at her, returning the smile before gazing back to the road ahead. 

Rey felt like a different person, more like her old self. When they had set out to the wilds of Maine, the intention had been to earn the brownstone. She had never imagined they would both decide to reject it, almost as if the brownstone had been a mere bandaid for a gushing wound. The cabin, though, the cabin had been the stitches, the gauze, the next step to full healing.

“I think we should revisit the idea of our own agency,” Ben said, lifting his voice to be heard over the rush of air from the open window. 

“Couldn’t agree with you more, my love,” Rey replied, lifting their joined hands to press her lips to his. 

But first, they needed to work on them. They needed to get over this slight road bump.

And they would. 

They would do it as they had always done.

Together. 


End file.
